Burgundy crush course: Get your learn on

It had been many months since my last ‘producer specific’ wine dinner, so I took it upon myself to organize a sequel. Focused around the wines of the two great Chablis producers Francois Raveneau and Vincent Dauvissat; we called it the Ravissat dinner.

There was a second theme for the evening too, much less specific however, Red Burgundy.

We started the evening with one of the world’s most misunderstood wines, a Chateau Chalon’s Vin Jaune, which paired perfectly with a decadent charcuterie board.

Dinner itself was of a slightly modified menu prepared for a Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin by Chef Sheen. Given our white and red themes for the evening, chef’s creations were extremely appropriate.

It was nice to have such a range of different styles from the same region. Equally impressive were the Ravissat wines (at least those that were sound). They’re made to such a high standard that tasted blind, their 1er cru wines could easily be mistaken for Grand cru. With tremendous fruit density, complexity and incredibly low yields usually reserved for the Grand cru vineyards, these wines showed poise and finesse that other producers just can’t match.

In my humble opinion, best in show was the 2004 Butteaux from Raveneau which made me want to kick everyone out of the restaurant so that I could be alone with the wine. Breathtaking.

All wines showed exceptionally well. The Clavelier being the most anticipated and the biggest letdown (corked). Once again, in my humble opinion the best red in show was the Barthod, Les Cras (which was my red contribution to the evening – and a little redemption since my Dauvissat had been flawed).

Michael Godel is a Principal Critic at WineAlign.com and processes his thoughts about wine, travel, music and pop culture at godello.ca.“Godello,” as he is known, hung up his 25 year-old chef’s apron ... read morein 2013 after joining the team at Toronto's Barque Smokehouse and Barque Butcher Bar as Consultant-At-Large in March of 2011 and is currently Wine Director. Godel is a judge for the annual WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada and the Ontario Wine Awards. He lives in Toronto with his wife of 22 years and three children.View author's profile